441. ~Dian~. Diana was the huntress among the immortals: she was
insensible to the bolts of Cupid, _i.e._ to the power of love. She was
the protectress of the flocks and game from beasts of prey, and at the
same time was believed to send plagues and sudden deaths among men and
animals. Comp. the song to Cynthia (Diana) in _Cynthia's Revels_, v. 1,
"Queen and huntress, chaste and fair," etc.
442. ~silver-shafted queen~. The epithet is applicable to Diana both as
huntress and goddess of the moon: as the former she bore arrows which
were frequently called _shafts_, and as the latter she bore shafts or
rays of light. _Shaft_ is etymologically 'a _shaven_ rod.' In Chaucer,
_C. T._ 1364, 'shaft' = arrow.
443. ~brinded lioness~. 'Brinded' = brindled or streaked. Comp. "_brinded_
cat," _Macb._ iv. 1. 1: _brind_ is etymologically connected with
_brand_.
444. ~mountain-pard~, _i.e._ panther or other spotted wild beast. _Pard_,
originally a Persian word, is common in the compounds leo-_pard_ and
camelo-_pard_.
445. ~frivolous ... Cupid~. See the speech of Oberon, _M. N. D._ ii. 1.
65. The epithet 'frivolous' applies to Cupid in his lower character as
the wanton god of sensual love, not in his character as the fair Eros
who unites all the discordant elements of the universe: see note, l.
1004.
447. ~snaky-headed Gorgon shield~. Medusa was one of the three Gorgons,
frightful beings, whose heads were covered with hissing serpents, and
who had wings, brazen claws, and huge teeth. Whoever looked at Medusa
was turned into stone, but Perseus, by the aid of enchantment, slew her.
Minerva (Athene) placed the monster's head in the centre of her shield,
which confounded Cupid: see _Par. Lost_, ii. 610.
449. ~freezed~, froze. The adjective 'congealed' is used proleptically,
the meaning being 'froze into a stone so that it was congealed.'